Could "THIN AIR" be just a state of mind?
Or, as the Moody Blues once sang, "thinking is the best way to travel". Of course, if we all adopted that concept, travel agencies all over the nation would go out of business!
____________________

A while back, I "googled" the words, "Thin Air" to see what I could find. And up popped all kinds of "Thin Air" stuff; and the following little tidbit really intrigued me:

"Why dream of escape, when you can escape into your dreams?", the cover of this book suggests. Sounds like a good idea to me. Think of all the gas you'd save. You'd never have to make reservations anywhere.

Actually, this looks like one of those trashy romance novels where the plumber's younger brother is running around with the sister of the high-society lady who knows that her best friend is having a fling with the brother of the lady whose boss is hiding from the mob, the New York Stock Exchange and the Internal Revenue service.

Thing is, the book needs to be "short and sweet", in detailing the potentially tragic and festering circumstances which the book's plot alludes to. After all, wouldn't it be an "oxymoron" of sorts, if the Novel "Thin Air" was in reality, a "thick" book?
____________________

Is there a reason for all this? dept.: Well, yeah. I had a reason around here somewhere...where did it go? Makes me remember the old saying, "I finally got my (stuff) together, but I forgot where I put it!" Oh, yeah, I remember now. The gout symptoms have subsided enough for me to hobble around on a daily basis, so hopefully this blog will once again get a little more informative, as the layers of insulation around my brain dissipate, resulting from me not having to take pain medication. My knobby knees are back to normal. I'm not jumping for joy, tho. Can't jump!
____________________

Not much to say in this column, so here's a picture dept.: It's always nice to put pictures in a blog. Especially in a post like this, that so far, hasn't said much of anything, so here goes:

Here's an old picture of downtown Coeur d'Alene which dates in the early 40's, probably, judging from the vehicles, and this shot shows that Coeur d'Alene hasn't changed a lot over the years. You can see the "Clarks' Jewelry" clock at the left side of the street; not sure which "Cafe" that is..."Merrill's Cafe", maybe?

On the right is an establishment known as the "Sugar Bowl". A bakery, maybe? And, a store I remember from my own childhood, WOOLWORTH'S, which is just up the street from the "Sugar Bowl". It's that "lower" building with the red "strip" above the windows. A great place to buy music, look at all the fish in the tanks, and then have a Coke! And, of course, up the street on the right is the Hart Building, where "Java On Sherman" is now located, with the building that now contains the "Sports Cellar" across the street from it.

____________________

What other goodies has he got for us? dept.: You didn't think I was gonna let you off THAT easily, did you? No way! There's Hell to pay! Actually, not. But here's another groovy picture:

I've posted a picture of this before, but this is a better view. Way back in ye olde days when it was a "long and winding road" between here and the Montana Border, evidently old Hiway 10 was quite a treacherous and tedious road, and at the top of the 4th of July Pass, there was a tunnel that all the olde roadsters would motor through. The tunnel was by-passed when the 4-lane version of hiway 10 (later Interstate 90) rendered it obsolete.

For a number of years, before the present highway was re-graded near the top of the pass, you could see the old tunnel off to the left if you were headed east, but it was all boarded up, and I think the State Highway dept. stored vehicles or whatever in the tunnel. (Some of you reading this may know more than I about this; feel free to "comment".)

It's always really weird going through a tunnel; there are tunnels on a couple of the 2-lane roads that head west from Interstate 5 in Oregon, and there's another one in the eastbound lanes of I-84 near The Dalles. I've always wondered about those tunnels; they sure don't give you much "escape room" from the edge of the road in case you happen to find yourself in dire circumstances thrust upon you by some hosehead motorist.

____________________

This has been a lackluster post, obviously. I took my vacant mind and hung it out to dry here. But, I think the pictures are pretty cool. The post underneath this is kinda interesting. Especially for people named DAVE. All you's "Daves" out there, be forewarned!